See Chris Stapleton’s Incredibly Powerful Tribute to Aretha Franklin

Chris Stapleton was in California on Thursday (Aug. 16) when news broke that Aretha Franklin had died at the age of 76. He paid tribute to the late Queen of Soul during a show at the Mattress Firm Amphitheater in Chula Vista, Calif., that night.

"We lost a legend today," Stapleton remarked before breaking into Franklin's "Do Right Woman, Do Right Man." "In my opinion, the greatest singer that ever lived. We'll do our best to make a tribute to her tonight."

Stapleton's slowed-down, heartfelt cover shows his flexibility. With added emotion and a guttural belt, the singer had his audience screaming along throughout a five-minute delivery. "Do Right Woman, Do Right Man" was recorded by Franklin, the first woman to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, in 1967. Willie Nelson recorded a version of the song for his 1982 album, Always on My Mind.

Franklin had a massive impact on the country genre, evident in several covers that resurfaced upon the legend's death last week. Acts like Jo Dee Messina, Reba McEntire and Faith Hill have shared the soul singer's influence on them.

"Sending my love and prayers to the family and friends of the incomparably influential Aretha Franklin," Messina writes on Twitter. "Her legacy will live on forever." In an interview with the Washington Postin 1996, Hill gushed about the soul icon. "For me, the big influence wasn't Linda Ronstadt; it was Aretha Franklin," Hill said at the time. "I've always listened to Aretha. When you hear the drums and bass on my records, that's where it comes from."

McEntire also shared the late singer's influence on social media when posting her rousing rendition of "Respect" as performed at the 1988 CMA Awards.